Who Secures Job Opportunities in the Chinese Government? Evidence Based on the First Jobs of Graduates from a Chinese College

Using a unique data set obtained from a Chinese college, the present paper investigates the determinants of obtaining a job in the Chinese Government. Despite the significant amount of attention paid to this issue by the media, academic study on this subject has been limited. We find that the parents' social capital, membership to the Communist Party, gender and personal ability significantly affect the possibility of a graduate obtaining a job in the public sector. Moreover, although acquiring a job in the government is difficult, no significant wage premium exists for graduates working in this sector. Finally, these results still hold after conducting the Heckman tests to validate the self-selection bias. This study identifies the determinants of young Chinese people's aspirations to be civil servants, which raises significant policy implications for the government.